Looking for D-SLR/Advanced Point/Shoot $500-1000, recommendations?

[RAW-Raptor22]

I need to make recommendations to a family member, and would like to know what XS thinks. I am considering the Nikon D60/D80 and the Canon EOS 450D at this point, but let me know what you think. :)

[[XC] 2long4u]

I'm going to upgrade to a D80 sometime this year. I bought the D40 and right now I have 3 lenses for it. I started low to keep cost down and can upgrade over time.

[Nate P.]

Either the 450D or the D80.

[RAW-Raptor22]

Either the 450D or the D80.

That was what I narrowed it down to, do you have a preference by chance?

[Nate P.]

I'm naturally biased towards the Canon, because I own a Canon 20D and Canon lenses. I've heard great things about the D80 though, and it is a bit higher end, albeit a bit older. The price in the D80 will drop once the D90 some out as well.

[YugenM]

Raptor22;3042526']That was what I narrowed it down to, do you have a preference by chance?

Between a Nikon and a Canon, I went with a 350D instead of something like a D70.

While Nikon has almost everything within quick reach while Canon buries a lot of its stuff in the menu system, Canon does ISO 100... and Nikon only goes to 200 until you get into the semi-professional bodies IIRC.

I play around with long exposures and I'm a slow photographer, so I went with the Canon.

[Dubz]

being more of a nikon fan. i would go with the d80 which i will be getting near the end of the year depending on how the d90 turns out. but the d80 body will take up most of budget alone. but then again i dont know if ur budget is on the body alone.

but any good photographer will tell you to go and play with the camera at your local retailer. that is just what i did after reading this forum. the canon was an option but didnt feel right in my hand. only the sony and nikon did.

best advice go play with the camera first. i spent hours at ritz when i got my d40. body, two lens, 3 filters, dvd on that camera and extended warranty for $800.

[shimmishim]

I'm surprised no one recommended the Canon 40D. The camera is less than $1000 right now. 1.6x crop body but produces some amazing images. I'd get that over the XSi any day.

[RAW-Raptor22]

I recommended the D60 because it was the best in her price range... thanks all of you guys. :up:

[Soulburner]

While it is a good camera, I still can't recommend the D60 because it is too close in price to the D80. The D80 is leaps and bounds better in terms of features, usability and versatility and I would spend the little extra hands down. Of course I own one so I am slightly biased, but I own one because I did the research beforehand so I knew exactly what I was getting.

Just so you know, these are the things you will not get with the D60:

-Ability to use lenses that do not have a focus motor (all Nikon primes, and a lot of 3rd party lenses). This really limits your lens options.
-Bracketing. You will really miss this if you get into HDR.
-Top, backlit LCD for shooting information. You will miss this if you don't like constantly referring to the back LCD.
-Unable to act as commander for wireless flash units. You will need an SB-800 flash mounted on the camera to control any other wireless flash units. Only the SB-800 can do this, unless you have a D80 which can do it "naked". The SB-800 may feel a little large on top of the smaller camera...search around for pics.

There are some other smaller things, but those are the main ones.


Between a Nikon and a Canon, I went with a 350D instead of something like a D70.

While Nikon has almost everything within quick reach while Canon buries a lot of its stuff in the menu system, Canon does ISO 100... and Nikon only goes to 200 until you get into the semi-professional bodies IIRC.

I play around with long exposures and I'm a slow photographer, so I went with the Canon.
This doesn't make sense to me. The ISO is set at 200 on the newer Nikons because that is the base ISO of the sensor, by the design of the sensor manufacturer (which is Sony currently). This can only give you the benefit of faster shutter speeds.

I cannot see this as a downside, and I cannot see how this would even affect a person's buying decision. Maybe you could explain better but I am just not seeing it.

FYI, you can force ISO 100 on the newer Nikons. The D80 base ISO is 100, unlike the new ones.

[Nate P.]

Yep, there is virtually no difference between 100 and 200ISO on most DSLR's. I'd consider this a non-issue.

[YugenM]

While it is a good camera, I still can't recommend the D60 because it is too close in price to the D80. The D80 is leaps and bounds better in terms of features, usability and versatility and I would spend the little extra hands down. Of course I own one so I am slightly biased, but I own one because I did the research beforehand so I knew exactly what I was getting.

Just so you know, these are the things you will not get with the D60:

-Ability to use lenses that do not have a focus motor (all Nikon primes, and a lot of 3rd party lenses). This really limits your lens options.
-Bracketing. You will really miss this if you get into HDR.
-Top, backlit LCD for shooting information. You will miss this if you don't like constantly referring to the back LCD.
-Unable to act as commander for wireless flash units. You will need an SB-800 flash mounted on the camera to control any other wireless flash units. Only the SB-800 can do this, unless you have a D80 which can do it "naked". The SB-800 may feel a little large on top of the smaller camera...search around for pics.

There are some other smaller things, but those are the main ones.


This doesn't make sense to me. The ISO is set at 200 on the newer Nikons because that is the base ISO of the sensor, by the design of the sensor manufacturer (which is Sony currently). This can only give you the benefit of faster shutter speeds.

I cannot see this as a downside, and I cannot see how this would even affect a person's buying decision. Maybe you could explain better but I am just not seeing it.

FYI, you can force ISO 100 on the newer Nikons. The D80 base ISO is 100, unlike the new ones.

I wasn't able to afford a D80 at the time, and I couldn't tolerate the noise on long exposure images I saw on the D70 at ISO 200.

I got to play around with a D70 at school today, and I loved everything about it... except the noise at ISO 200.

[Soulburner]

It's interesting how you can't choose ISO 100 on the D70 but it comes down to sensor design. However not all Nikons are the same, as the D80 has a base ISO of 100.

Therefore, it doesn't really factor into this discussion about D60/80 vs Canon.

[YugenM]

It's interesting how you can't choose ISO 100 on the D70 but it comes down to sensor design. However not all Nikons are the same, as the D80 has a base ISO of 100.

Therefore, it doesn't really factor into this discussion about D60/80 vs Canon.

Sorry :p: